Man Who Lost Access To His Bitcoin Wallet In 2014 Finally Recovers It, And It's Worth Almost $4.5 Million

A man who lost access to his Bitcoin wallet in 2014, when it was worth around $5,400, has finally recovered it, and it’s now worth almost $4.5 million.

In 2011, a man named Chris spent about $2,000 on Bitcoin after a buddy convinced him it would become a “massive thing.” Chris bought and stored his Bitcoin on the platform Intersango, once known as Britcoin, one of the earliest Bitcoin exchanges in the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, according to LBC, Intersango unexpectedly became unavailable in 2014, and anyone who tried to withdraw their money received no response.

Chris was among those who attempted to withdraw his Bitcoin after hearing reports that Intersango was having financial difficulties. But when he attempted to log in, the system had frozen his account. By then, the Bitcoin in his wallet had increased in value to about $5,400.

“It was a bit of a shock when it happened. It wasn’t really money that I wanted to lose,” he told LBC.

As time went on, he had to accept that he had probably lost the money forever.

“It was a punch in the stomach watching Bitcoin go up and up,” he said. “After a while, I stopped watching it because I thought: ‘there’s no point, it’s lost… I had written them off.'”